Close To Death
by Kijo-sama
Summary: Shinjii Linn is an average 17 year old... except for the fact she's close to death and is in love with her best friend who just happens to be a street punk we all know and love to death. Hinted SYY
1. Close To Death

Normal POV

Shinjii Linn wasn't just any average 17 year old girl. Her best friend was a street punk, she had to take care of her 12 year old brother Oshin, a 3,000 year old spirit had it in for her, and a CEO of one of the largest scale company's had a crush on her. Not to mention she was a bully who has picked on almost everyone and she was getting herself a one way ticket to the shadow realm and she had contracted a fatal disease when she was an infant. Linn now attends Domino High and she fears it's going to be her last week in school.

Linn's POV

I was sitting in math class, second period when I heard the teacher call my name.

"Shinjii-san…Shinjii-san! Answer the question!" I looked up from my desk; I'd been trying to get rid of my headache.

"What was the question again Sensei?" I shook my head, voice low as I tried to not upset my headache any more. He pointed to the board and I squinted slightly, my vision had gone blurry. "4 over pi." he nodded and continued to teach class. I rubbed at the bridge of my nose, again trying to get rid of my headache with no avail.

"Shinjii-san…is there something wrong?" I looked up slightly at the whispered voice to see none other then Kaiba Seto speaking to me. I groaned as I tried even harder to get rid of my headache that didn't want to go away. I waved him off with an 'I'm fine, I'm fine' and continued to try and take notes down so it looked like I did something today.

That class period was short and I stood to leave only to grab a hold of my desk again. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw it was Kaiba again. Why did he have to keep bothering me? I was the worst bully around school, I even picked on him… but I guess being the CEO of a multibillion dollar corporation, a genius, and the most wanted man in Domino, Japan, and almost all of Asia, there wasn't much to make fun of. He just had to keep bothering me like this.

"Are you sure you're alright? You look ready to collapse." his hand was still on my shoulder. I sneered and roughly pulled away from him and stalked out of the room. Unluckily for me, we had PE together as well, which was next period. Did someone out there hate me or something?

I walked down the hall, carrying my shoulder strap book bag to my locker to change for my PE clothes. I wasn't like the other girls I guess you could say. I didn't have to wear the girls uniform, I wore the boy's uniform and for gym, I got to wear long pants and a tee-shirt. Most people didn't know, because I didn't want them to, that I had a lot of things wrong with me. When I was five, my dad was killed in a car accident after getting my mom pregnant. When she had my brother, the doctors said there were complications and she had died during childbirth… I thought it was because mom couldn't stand to be without dad. I was left to name my brother and I called him Oshin.

Oshin and I grew up on the streets. I took care of him, made sure he was never sick and he grew up to be a well rounded kid. He worried about me a lot because ever since I was little I got sick a lot. I had all these weird pains and I would sometimes just pass out for no reason, having sharp pain in my chest. We couldn't afford a doctor so I just tried to hide it from him. As time passed, it only got worse. I constantly got headaches and back pain, along with pain in my chest and stomach. But I always made sure Oshin was okay. I became a bully at school and I stole other kids lunches so that, even if I didn't eat, I could bring somethin back for my brother.

We slept in the park when it was warm, having a small, hidden area in the trees that no one else knew about, but when it got cold, I made Oshin stay with his friends. Anyone who would let him stay. All his friends knew his problem that we didn't have a home or a family. I didn't seem to have friends. I bullied everyone so much that I made them all hate me. I guess that was better considering that by the end of my junior year of high school I was probably going to die. I knew it was true and so did my brother… we accepted our fate and I took the best care I could of him. I wish I could have done him better.

The bell for third period rang and I gasped. I had been so busy thinking I was still at my locker! I quickly slammed the container closed and ran as fast as I could towards the gym. I got in and changed, making up a really lame excuse for being late but the teacher didn't expect any better from me. The teachers knew I was dying; they basically just let me live at the school.

I sat down on one of the bleachers, my long pants folding up beneath me. All of the sudden a pair of warm hands covered my eyes.

"Guess who!" said a very easily recognized voice.

"Hmm… let me guess… Kaiba Seto?" I said with sarcasm.

"Ha! Like I'd eva be like dat prick Kaiba!" Katsuya Jounouchi said as he removed his hands from my eyes and sat down next to me. I smiled at him. Jou was, and had been my best friend since I was about three. Before anything tragic happened to me, I had lived in an apartment with my family and Jou just happened to live next to us. We became quick friends and have been ever since that day. I laughed under my breath.

"Don't be so mean Jou, that's my job. And by the by, he's two feet away." I pointed to where Kaiba was sitting at the other end of the bleachers, in earshot. He looked at me and nodded then looked to Jou and muttered,

"Mutt…"

"Why I audda…" Jou stood; ready to get into a fist fight, _again_, with Kaiba.

"Hold your horses mister short fuse! Not again! I'm the one who's suppose to be getting into trouble… ever since you met that Yuugi kid and became friends with him you've been getting a lot better! Don't go back to fighting…" my voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm the only one around here who's suppose to be hurt." he turned and looked at me and frowned. He always worried! Everyone that knew anything about me worried and everyone else hated me. It was better off that way… if they hated me, they wouldn't miss me when I die.

"Now don't ya go talkin' like dat again Linn… I told ya I'm not gunna lose ya…" Jou wrapped an arm around me; his voice was lo so that only I could hear him. I gave him a weak smile and leaned against him. Jou always knew how to make me feel better. I felt bad inside though… he had all these friends who cared about him and then he had me. I even picked on his friends and they would ask to why but he never told. One of the main people I picked on was in fact Yuugi Motou because he was so small. He'd gotten a lot of confidence though in the past two years and it was getting harder to get food. I never told Jou that we didn't ever eat. He thought I was never hungry because of my sickness.

"You're right Jou… sorry I got out of hand." I pulled away from him and he gave me that goofy smile of his. I just smiled back at him a bit. The teacher called everyone to go outside. We were doing archery today. I smiled, extremely happy now. Archery was one of the things in gym I actully could do without having to worry about other people.

"Alright! First line! Pick up your bow's, nock, aim and fire when ready!" the teacher called out. I was in the first line and since we only had a few kids in the class, we each got 10 arrows. I lifted my bow from the ground and took my pose, bringing one arrow to rest against the bow and string before kneeling down on one knee and taking aim, pulling the string back to my ear and firing. When I'd finished with all 10 arrows there was only one left… I'd shot all of them directly in the bull's eye and split the nine that had come first before the last. Well at least I know I got 100 points. Line two went up and did their shots and then we were allowed to continue shooting if we wanted. Only three people went to do free shots.

Me, Jou, and Kaiba.

Kaiba was matching me shot for shot until Jou dropped out to watch us. I heard him screaming at me.

"Come on Linn! Ya can beat dat jerk! Show him what a real archer's shootin' is like!" I smiled and took my last shot, splitting the arrow in the bull's eye down the middle and Kaiba missed by just a hair. I smiled and was going to go over and tell Kaiba what a good job he'd done but I stopped. Sudden pain shot through my chest and stomach and I froze in my spot. Everyone else had already gone back to class and it was me, Jou and Kaiba left outside. I pressed my hand against my chest and took a gasp of breath, everything started going dark. I saw both Jou and Kaiba rushing towards me as I felt the darkness grow. I hope one of them made it.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

When I woke up I looked up to a sterile white ceiling. I blinked and groaned, closing my eyes again to the bright light that shown from above.

"Thank goodness you're awake. I'd been worried about you. That was quite a fall you had." I turned my head to the side and squinted to see a blurry figure.

"K… K-Kaiba?" I slowly put my hand over my eyes to block out the light and looked up at him. He was in the seat next to my bed that, I assumed, was in the nurse's office. I must have collapsed again. It's been happening more and more often. This was the third time this week. Thankfully, the other two times had been on the weekend and no one had found out. I pushed myself up on my elbows, my eyes half lidded as I squinted towards him.

"You scared me… are you alright?" I frowned.

"You don't have to worry about me Kaiba… I'm a big girl and can take care of myself… even if I did collapse again I would have just woken up a few hours later and picked up with the day." I had turned away from him, looking towards the wall. Then I heard footsteps and I looked up. The school nurse, Miss Rachel Brenner walked in with a smile on her warm face.

"How you feeling Linn? Did the pain stop?" I nodded slightly but then grimaced and shook my head. I placed my hand against the lower part of my chest and tightened my hands on my gym shirt.

"Rach… get… bottle two." I closed my eyes and leaned heavily back on my elbow. I saw Kaiba from the corner of my eye, he looked worried… and I'd be suspicious if I didn't have hot flames of pain shooting through my insides. Rachel came back after a moment, holding up the bottle.

"How many this time… the normal amount?" I shook my head… with pain this bad? I'd need the whole damn bottle!

"All… give me it all…" she just stared at me and Kaiba was doing the same.

"Linn there are still 18 pills in this! You could get more messed up then you are now!" I just glared at her and she handed the bottle, already opened, to me. I took it and poured the entire content into my mouth, dry-swallowing all 18 pills. Immediately I felt the pain subside and I fell back onto the bed, my hand loosening it's grip on my shirt. Rachel walked away and Kaiba just stared at me some more.

"What's wrong with you?" I looked up at him and frowned. He may as well know now…

"I'm dying… I have something called Anatomy Internal Degenerative Disorder. Yeah I know, AIDD. They were going to label it Syndrome but there already was Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, aka AIDS." I sighed and continued to explain to the man sitting before me with a lax jaw and wide eyes.

"It seems for some reason, my organs are degenerating from the inside out and I'm slowly dying. I don't know why but I think someone hates me or something. I've got no money and no home because both my parents are dead, my dad died in a car accident and my mom died during child birth to my little brother. The only reason I'm such an ass to everyone is because I need the money I take and the food for my brother. I hardly ever eat and I sleep in the park." I looked back to him; he was about to say something.

"If you even try to say me and my brother can stay with you don't try it. I don't need your pity Kaiba." I looked away from him once his mouth snap shut. I turned onto my side, facing away from him more.

"Why do you put up with it all?" I heard his voice, in a soft whisper. I didn't look at him but somehow I knew he was frowning at me.

"I gotta protect my little brother… I've been through crap but that doesn't mean he can't live a happy life. When I finally do kick it, the insurance my parents got for me will see him through till he can get work and somewhere to stay… all I wants for him to be happy." I bit my lip, feeling a single warm tear slid down my cheek. I curled up on my side, bringing my knees to my chest and my hands in front of my face. I suddenly looked back over to him when I felt his hand placed on my hip.

"I don't feel pity for you… I myself had to raise my little brother Mokuba and he's 12 now. I know what it's like to want to give up and be so stubborn that you won't take help from anyone. They don't call me the ice prick for no reason." he smiled a bit towards me but everything was fading, the medication I had taken was kicking in and I would be in a pre-induced coma type sleep till the end of the day.

"Just… get out of here Kaiba… I don't kneed your help and by the time a minute's up I'll be asleep. Just go back to class and pass everything with flying colors like you're suppose to." I let me eyes close again and everything went back into sweet oblivion.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

I felt a warm hand waking me, and a soft woman's voice calling my name.

"Linn… wake up. School's over and you can leave… I know the medication's still in affect but I need to lock up. Linn, wake up." I opened my eyes and saw Rachel standing over me, a warm smile on her face. Everything was a blur. When everything was clear again I was on the roof, sitting against a chain link fence. I looked around to find myself alone but for some reason my mouth hurt. I lifted one hand up to my lips and when I pulled it away I saw there was blood.

"Just great… I'm all doped up on medication and get into a fight… damn I hope I didn't hurt them too much… but considering they got in a good punch to bust my lip they must still be okay." I leaned heavily back against the fence, my legs folded up in front of me. I worked on just relaxing as the sun began to slowly drop as the time went on.

It'd been about an hour and a half when the door to the roof knocked open. I looked up and to my surprise, found Yuugi standing there with a bruised cheek. _'Oh crap… he must be the one I picked a fight with! Damn this isn't good… he's not going to believe I wasn't me when I did it… I've beaten him up other times… why do his eyes look red?'_

"Shinjii-san…" his voice was darker then usual. "You've hurt me enough… it's time we play a game." he strode over to me and from my seated position, he looked taller then normal. His hair had changed too…

_'Crap it's not Yuugi! This must be that Yami person Jou mentioned' _I looked up towards him.

"What kind of game do you want to play… Yami?" he blinked at my comment but then just smiled slightly.

"We'll be playing a shadow game. It's been forever since I've gotten to mind crush someone for my aibou and this should make both of us feel better." I smiled bitterly. Jou had told me all about what happened when someone was 'mind crushed'. He said they got taken to somewhere called the 'Shadow Realm' and they never came back. If this was the end for me I might as well just give it my damn-dest and play. I nodded in agreement.

"What kind of game do you want to play? There are so many choices." he sat in front of me and glared. It didn't bother me… he nor Yuugi knew I was already close to death so his just pushing me over would probably make him feel better and I wouldn't have to worry any more.

"We'll be playing this." he held up a small pile of bills. Probably around 1,500 yen. I blinked. Had I taken money from him? I know I had in the past but I didn't know if I had now. "The game we'll play if called endurance. You have to pick up a bill and for every one yen worth, you'll feel pain. The one who lasts the longest wins. If you lose, you'll play my penalty game and go to The Shadow Realm. Understood?" I nodded and he started things off. He picked up a single yen and I saw the sparks as he was hurt. This was no joke. I frowned and leant forward. It was my turn now and I didn't want him to suffer any more then needed so I reached for the largest amount of yen and picked it up. I saw his eyes widen as searing pain shot it's way up my arm, through my spine and my entire body. I convulsed and my eyes closed in pain.

"N-no more…" I whispered. My body had had enough pain for one day and I leaned heavily back into the fence, my arm falling limply at my side.

"You… you did that on purpose. You picked up the largest bill… why would you do something like that?" his eyes were wide and I could see the glimmer of amethyst along with the crimson. I laughed tiredly. He may as well know too…

" I'm dying already… almost close enough to see the other side… when I beat up poor Yuugi I was still on my… on my medications and I didn't even know what I was doing. I'm sorry… I just don't want anyone else to suffer." My vision blurred and I felt like I was falling over. Before I hit the ground I felt warm arms wrap around me. I looked up and saw Yami looking down at me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders to hold me up. I hadn't even realized he'd moved.

"You obviously didn't mean what you did… and you're in enough pain already so I don't think that penalty game is in order." he smiled then looked up. "On the other hand I believe there is someone, or someone's, who need to see you." I turned my vision from where it was on Yami to look back over towards the roof door. Standing there was Seto and Jou. I smiled bitterly towards Jou as he rushed to my side, kneeling next to me and hugging me tight, moving me out of Yami's arms and into his own. I couldn't stop the tears as they ran down my cheeks and I buried my tear stained face into his chest as I cried.

"Jou I'm so sorry… I ODed and I didn't know what happened and when I came up here everything just was so blurry and I don't know! It just hurts so much!" he just rubbed soothing circles in my back and rocked up back and forth, whispering sweet nothing's in my ear as he continued to help me relax from my panic attack. This happened often. I'd let everything build up and up till I couldn't take it any more and just broke down like a baby. After a few minutes I pulled myself away from his chest but he held me fast, not trusting me to stay up on my own. I leaned into him, hugging him tight and nuzzling my face into his neck.

"Ya feelin' betta buddy?" I nodded and he kisses my forehead lightly. Everything seemed so far off as I leaned into him, allowing myself to be held. It started going black again and I tried to tell Jou and Yami and Kaiba what was going on but I don't think I got it out before it all went black again.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

My ears started working before my eyes did. I heard everyone talking and I could tell I wasn't still on the roof. I think I might be in the hospital. Kaiba's voice was the first I heard.

"Yeah she'll be fine. I paid for all the surgery and the doctor said she'd be fine now. Everything's going to be okay kid." I kept my eyes closed, straining to listen and then realized who he was talking to… it was Oshin!

"You're completely sure Nee-san is going to be okay? She's been in so much pain for so long… I don't want her to hurt any more." and then that unmistakable voice filtered in.

"Hey, don't cha worry ya little head ova it Oshin! I promise, the Jounouchi guarantee dat Linn's gunna be okay." at that point I'm sure he smiled that goofy smile of his.

"I think…" my voice was raspy but could be heard, "that I'm gunna be okay too." I finally opened my eyes to the whiteness of the room. As I expected I was in the hospital, the three people who cared about me the most right there in the room and to my surprise, Yuugi was there too. He was off to the side sitting in a chair sporting his bruised cheek. But he still smiled at me when he heard me speak.

"Nee-san!" Oshin rushed over to me and hugged me tightly after I had pushed myself into a sitting position. I hugged him back.

"Hey kiddo… you didn't think I was going to leave you just like that did you? I've gotta harass you some more before I'm ready to kick it." he laughed and hugged me more, burying his face into my neck. I felt his tears and I just held him tight. Jou and Kaiba walked over, Yuugi deciding to stay off to the side. Jou came and grabbed my hand tightly, I could see he'd been crying earlier, probably when I collapsed in his arms.

"Hey buddy… I told ya I wasn't gunna let ya get away that easily… told ya I was gunna keep ya here wit me." I smiled at him, his golden brown eyes shining with unshed tears. I turned and looked to Kaiba and he was, to my amazement, smiling at me!

"Kaiba… you didn't have to do this for me you know…"

"I know" he said "but I thought, I should at least keep the person I care about alive enough to ask her something…" he came over and held out a box, opening it up to a small, silver ring. "Linn… I know this is mushy and most don't expect that of me…" in fact, I noticed Jou had taken a step back and was staring at Kaiba as if his head had turned into a monkey. "but I wanted to know if you'd be my girlfriend?" I laughed lightly.

"Sorry Kaiba… my heart's already taken." he looked down slightly but just looked back up with another smile.

"The least you can do is call me Seto… seeing as whether you like it or not, you're moving in with me… or I'm at least getting you a place to stay and paying for everything you need." I laughed again but smiled and hugged onto my brother tight, noticing his face light up with joy and surprise.

"Alright Seto… thanks… I owe one big time." he just shook his head and muttered something about 'about time I give something back to the world' or something like that. He put the ring away and I frowned but I'm sure he'd find someone. I looked up to Jou again and smiled.

"Ya had me worried Linn… I thought dis would be da last time I saw ya…"

"Ha. You can't get rid of me that easy Jou. Oh and Seto…" he looked at me. "That ring of yours might go to good use." he blinked at me but I gestured towards Yuugi. He blushed but shook his head, just looking down at the puzzle hanging around his neck. Seto's face went bright red!

"You can't mean…" his face seemed to pale before going even redder! I laughed and shooed him away, telling him to go off and 'find out' if I really meant it or not. I'd seen the way Yami's eyes lip up when Seto had came onto the roof and knew instantly the spirit had a crush on the 'cold hearted' CEO. _'hopefully things will work out with them' _I thought as Yuugi and Seto walked out of the room. I looked back to Jou and he just stared at me.

"What?" he just blinked.

"Did ya mean it when ya said yer heart belonged ta someone else?" I smiled and leaned back into the not-so-comfy hospital bead.

"You'll just have to find out Jou… just wait and find out." I closed my eyes against his protesting, letting myself fall again, into sweet oblivion.


	2. The other side

**Hey people, this is another version of the same story. It's exactly the same up untill about the third part, then it changes. Tell me what one you like more and if it's number one, then I'll make another story, if it's this one... then that's it... read and review people!**

Normal POV

Shinjii Linn wasn't just any average 17 year old girl. Her best friend was a street punk, she had to take care of her 12 year old brother Oshin, a 3,000 year old spirit had it in for her, and a CEO of one of the largest scale company's had a crush on her. Not to mention she was a bully who has picked on almost everyone and she was getting herself a one way ticket to the shadow realm and she had contracted a fatal disease when she was an infant. Linn now attends Domino High and she fears it's going to be her last week in school.

Linn's POV

I was sitting in math class, second period when I heard the teacher call my name.

"Shinjii-san…Shinjii-san! Answer the question!" I looked up from my desk; I'd been trying to get rid of my headache.

"What was the question again Sensei?" I shook my head, voice low as I tried to not upset my headache any more. He pointed to the board and I squinted slightly, my vision had gone blurry. "4 over pi." he nodded and continued to teach class. I rubbed at the bridge of my nose, again trying to get rid of my headache with no avail.

"Shinjii-san…is there something wrong?" I looked up slightly at the whispered voice to see none other then Kaiba Seto speaking to me. I groaned as I tried even harder to get rid of my headache that didn't want to go away. I waved him off with an 'I'm fine, I'm fine' and continued to try and take notes down so it looked like I did something today.

That class period was short and I stood to leave only to grab a hold of my desk again. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw it was Kaiba again. Why did he have to keep bothering me? I was the worst bully around school, I even picked on him… but I guess being the CEO of a multibillion dollar corporation, a genius, and the most wanted man in Domino, Japan, and almost all of Asia, there wasn't much to make fun of. He just had to keep bothering me like this.

"Are you sure you're alright? You look ready to collapse." his hand was still on my shoulder. I sneered and roughly pulled away from him and stalked out of the room. Unluckily for me, we had PE together as well, which was next period. Did someone out there hate me or something?

I walked down the hall, carrying my shoulder strap book bag to my locker to change for my PE clothes. I wasn't like the other girls I guess you could say. I didn't have to wear the girls uniform, I wore the boy's uniform and for gym, I got to wear long pants and a tee-shirt. Most people didn't know, because I didn't want them to, that I had a lot of things wrong with me. When I was five, my dad was killed in a car accident after getting my mom pregnant. When she had my brother, the doctors said there were complications and she had died during childbirth… I thought it was because mom couldn't stand to be without dad. I was left to name my brother and I called him Oshin.

Oshin and I grew up on the streets. I took care of him, made sure he was never sick and he grew up to be a well rounded kid. He worried about me a lot because ever since I was little I got sick a lot. I had all these weird pains and I would sometimes just pass out for no reason, having sharp pain in my chest. We couldn't afford a doctor so I just tried to hide it from him. As time passed, it only got worse. I constantly got headaches and back pain, along with pain in my chest and stomach. But I always made sure Oshin was okay. I became a bully at school and I stole other kids lunches so that, even if I didn't eat, I could bring somethin back for my brother.

We slept in the park when it was warm, having a small, hidden area in the trees that no one else knew about, but when it got cold, I made Oshin stay with his friends. Anyone who would let him stay. All his friends knew his problem that we didn't have a home or a family. I didn't seem to have friends. I bullied everyone so much that I made them all hate me. I guess that was better considering that by the end of my junior year of high school I was probably going to die. I knew it was true and so did my brother… we accepted our fate and I took the best care I could of him. I wish I could have done him better.

The bell for third period rang and I gasped. I had been so busy thinking I was still at my locker! I quickly slammed the container closed and ran as fast as I could towards the gym. I got in and changed, making up a really lame excuse for being late but the teacher didn't expect any better from me. The teachers knew I was dying; they basically just let me live at the school.

I sat down on one of the bleachers, my long pants folding up beneath me. All of the sudden a pair of warm hands covered my eyes.

"Guess who!" said a very easily recognized voice.

"Hmm… let me guess… Kaiba Seto?" I said with sarcasm.

"Ha! Like I'd eva be like dat prick Kaiba!" Katsuya Jounouchi said as he removed his hands from my eyes and sat down next to me. I smiled at him. Jou was, and had been my best friend since I was about three. Before anything tragic happened to me, I had lived in an apartment with my family and Jou just happened to live next to us. We became quick friends and have been ever since that day. I laughed under my breath.

"Don't be so mean Jou, that's my job. And by the by, he's two feet away." I pointed to where Kaiba was sitting at the other end of the bleachers, in earshot. He looked at me and nodded then looked to Jou and muttered,

"Mutt…"

"Why I audda…" Jou stood; ready to get into a fist fight, _again_, with Kaiba.

"Hold your horses mister short fuse! Not again! I'm the one who's suppose to be getting into trouble… ever since you met that Yuugi kid and became friends with him you've been getting a lot better! Don't go back to fighting…" my voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm the only one around here who's suppose to be hurt." he turned and looked at me and frowned. He always worried! Everyone that knew anything about me worried and everyone else hated me. It was better off that way… if they hated me, they wouldn't miss me when I die.

"Now don't ya go talkin' like dat again Linn… I told ya I'm not gunna lose ya…" Jou wrapped an arm around me; his voice was lo so that only I could hear him. I gave him a weak smile and leaned against him. Jou always knew how to make me feel better. I felt bad inside though… he had all these friends who cared about him and then he had me. I even picked on his friends and they would ask to why but he never told. One of the main people I picked on was in fact Yuugi Motou because he was so small. He'd gotten a lot of confidence though in the past two years and it was getting harder to get food. I never told Jou that we didn't ever eat. He thought I was never hungry because of my sickness.

"You're right Jou… sorry I got out of hand." I pulled away from him and he gave me that goofy smile of his. I just smiled back at him a bit. The teacher called everyone to go outside. We were doing archery today. I smiled, extremely happy now. Archery was one of the things in gym I actully could do without having to worry about other people.

"Alright! First line! Pick up your bow's, nock, aim and fire when ready!" the teacher called out. I was in the first line and since we only had a few kids in the class, we each got 10 arrows. I lifted my bow from the ground and took my pose, bringing one arrow to rest against the bow and string before kneeling down on one knee and taking aim, pulling the string back to my ear and firing. When I'd finished with all 10 arrows there was only one left… I'd shot all of them directly in the bull's eye and split the nine that had come first before the last. Well at least I know I got 100 points. Line two went up and did their shots and then we were allowed to continue shooting if we wanted. Only three people went to do free shots.

Me, Jou, and Kaiba.

Kaiba was matching me shot for shot until Jou dropped out to watch us. I heard him screaming at me.

"Come on Linn! Ya can beat dat jerk! Show him what a real archer's shootin' is like!" I smiled and took my last shot, splitting the arrow in the bull's eye down the middle and Kaiba missed by just a hair. I smiled and was going to go over and tell Kaiba what a good job he'd done but I stopped. Sudden pain shot through my chest and stomach and I froze in my spot. Everyone else had already gone back to class and it was me, Jou and Kaiba left outside. I pressed my hand against my chest and took a gasp of breath, everything started going dark. I saw both Jou and Kaiba rushing towards me as I felt the darkness grow. I hope one of them made it.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

When I woke up I looked up to a sterile white ceiling. I blinked and groaned, closing my eyes again to the bright light that shown from above.

"Thank goodness you're awake. I'd been worried about you. That was quite a fall you had." I turned my head to the side and squinted to see a blurry figure.

"K… K-Kaiba?" I slowly put my hand over my eyes to block out the light and looked up at him. He was in the seat next to my bed that, I assumed, was in the nurse's office. I must have collapsed again. It's been happening more and more often. This was the third time this week. Thankfully, the other two times had been on the weekend and no one had found out. I pushed myself up on my elbows, my eyes half lidded as I squinted towards him.

"You scared me… are you alright?" I frowned.

"You don't have to worry about me Kaiba… I'm a big girl and can take care of myself… even if I did collapse again I would have just woken up a few hours later and picked up with the day." I had turned away from him, looking towards the wall. Then I heard footsteps and I looked up. The school nurse, Miss Rachel Brenner walked in with a smile on her warm face.

"How you feeling Linn? Did the pain stop?" I nodded slightly but then grimaced and shook my head. I placed my hand against the lower part of my chest and tightened my hands on my gym shirt.

"Rach… get… bottle two." I closed my eyes and leaned heavily back on my elbow. I saw Kaiba from the corner of my eye, he looked worried… and I'd be suspicious if I didn't have hot flames of pain shooting through my insides. Rachel came back after a moment, holding up the bottle.

"How many this time… the normal amount?" I shook my head… with pain this bad? I'd need the whole damn bottle!

"All… give me it all…" she just stared at me and Kaiba was doing the same.

"Linn there are still 18 pills in this! You could get more messed up then you are now!" I just glared at her and she handed the bottle, already opened, to me. I took it and poured the entire content into my mouth, dry-swallowing all 18 pills. Immediately I felt the pain subside and I fell back onto the bed, my hand loosening it's grip on my shirt. Rachel walked away and Kaiba just stared at me some more.

"What's wrong with you?" I looked up at him and frowned. He may as well know now…

"I'm dying… I have something called Anatomy Internal Degenerative Disorder. Yeah I know, AIDD. They were going to label it Syndrome but there already was Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, aka AIDS." I sighed and continued to explain to the man sitting before me with a lax jaw and wide eyes.

"It seems for some reason, my organs are degenerating from the inside out and I'm slowly dying. I don't know why but I think someone hates me or something. I've got no money and no home because both my parents are dead, my dad died in a car accident and my mom died during child birth to my little brother. The only reason I'm such an ass to everyone is because I need the money I take and the food for my brother. I hardly ever eat and I sleep in the park." I looked back to him; he was about to say something.

"If you even try to say me and my brother can stay with you don't try it. I don't need your pity Kaiba." I looked away from him once his mouth snap shut. I turned onto my side, facing away from him more.

"Why do you put up with it all?" I heard his voice, in a soft whisper. I didn't look at him but somehow I knew he was frowning at me.

"I gotta protect my little brother… I've been through crap but that doesn't mean he can't live a happy life. When I finally do kick it, the insurance my parents got for me will see him through till he can get work and somewhere to stay… all I wants for him to be happy." I bit my lip, feeling a single warm tear slid down my cheek. I curled up on my side, bringing my knees to my chest and my hands in front of my face. I suddenly looked back over to him when I felt his hand placed on my hip.

"I don't feel pity for you… I myself had to raise my little brother Mokuba and he's 12 now. I know what it's like to want to give up and be so stubborn that you won't take help from anyone. They don't call me the ice prick for no reason." he smiled a bit towards me but everything was fading, the medication I had taken was kicking in and I would be in a pre-induced coma type sleep till the end of the day.

"Just… get out of here Kaiba… I don't kneed your help and by the time a minute's up I'll be asleep. Just go back to class and pass everything with flying colors like you're suppose to." I let me eyes close again and everything went back into sweet oblivion.

XXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXXxxXX

I felt a warm hand waking me, and a soft woman's voice calling my name.

"Linn… wake up. School's over and you can leave… I know the medication's still in affect but I need to lock up. Linn, wake up." I opened my eyes and saw Rachel standing over me, a warm smile on her face. Everything was a blur. When everything was clear again I was on the roof, sitting against a chain link fence. I looked around to find myself alone but for some reason my mouth hurt. I lifted one hand up to my lips and when I pulled it away I saw there was blood.

"Just great… I'm all doped up on medication and get into a fight… damn I hope I didn't hurt them too much… but considering they got in a good punch to bust my lip they must still be okay." I leaned heavily back against the fence, my legs folded up in front of me. I worked on just relaxing as the sun began to slowly drop as the time went on.

It'd been about an hour and a half when the door to the roof knocked open. I looked up and to my surprise, found Yuugi standing there with a bruised cheek. _'Oh crap… he must be the one I picked a fight with! Damn this isn't good… he's not going to believe I wasn't me when I did it… I've beaten him up other times… why do his eyes look red?'_

"Shinjii-san…" his voice was darker then usual. "You've hurt me enough… it's time we play a game." he strode over to me and from my seated position, he looked taller then normal. His hair had changed too…

_'Crap it's not Yuugi! This must be that Yami person Jou mentioned' _I looked up towards him.

"What kind of game do you want to play… Yami?" he blinked at my comment but then just smiled slightly.

"We'll be playing a shadow game. It's been forever since I've gotten to mind crush someone for my aibou and this should make both of us feel better." I smiled bitterly. Jou had told me all about what happened when someone was 'mind crushed'. He said they got taken to somewhere called the 'Shadow Realm' and they never came back. If this was the end for me I might as well just give it my damn-dest and play. I nodded in agreement.

"What kind of game do you want to play? There are so many choices." he sat in front of me and glared. It didn't bother me… he nor Yuugi knew I was already close to death so his just pushing me over would probably make him feel better and I wouldn't have to worry any more.

"We'll be playing this." he held up a small pile of bills. Probably around 1,500 yen. I blinked. Had I taken money from him? I know I had in the past but I didn't know if I had now. "The game we'll play if called endurance. You have to pick up a bill and for every one yen worth, you'll feel pain. The one who lasts the longest wins. If you lose, you'll play my penalty game and go to The Shadow Realm. Understood?" I nodded and he started things off. He picked up a single yen and I saw the sparks as he was hurt. This was no joke. I frowned and leant forward. It was my turn now and I didn't want him to suffer any more then needed so I reached for the largest amount of yen and picked it up. I saw his eyes widen as searing pain shot it's way up my arm, through my spine and my entire body. I convulsed and my eyes closed in pain.

"N-no more…" I whispered. My body had had enough pain for one day and I leaned heavily back into the fence, my arm falling limply at my side.

"You… you did that on purpose. You picked up the largest bill… why would you do something like that?" his eyes were wide and I could see the glimmer of amethyst along with the crimson. I laughed tiredly. He may as well know too…

" I'm dying already… almost close enough to see the other side… when I beat up poor Yuugi I was still on my… on my medications and I didn't even know what I was doing. I'm sorry… I just don't want anyone else to suffer." My vision blurred and I felt like I was falling over. Before I hit the ground I felt warm arms wrap around me. I looked up and saw Yami looking down at me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders to hold me up. I hadn't even realized he'd moved.

"You obviously didn't mean what you did… and you're in enough pain already so I don't think that penalty game is in order." he smiled then looked up. "On the other hand I believe there is someone, or someone's, who need to see you." I turned my vision from where it was on Yami to look back over towards the roof door. Standing there was Seto and Jou. I smiled bitterly towards Jou as he rushed to my side, kneeling next to me and hugging me tight, moving me out of Yami's arms and into his own. I couldn't stop the tears as they ran down my cheeks and I buried my tear stained face into his chest as I cried.

"Jou I'm so sorry… I ODed and I didn't know what happened and when I came up here everything just was so blurry and I don't know! It just hurts so much!" he just rubbed soothing circles in my back and rocked up back and forth, whispering sweet nothing's in my ear as he continued to help me relax from my panic attack. This happened often. I'd let everything build up and up till I couldn't take it any more and just broke down like a baby. After a few minutes I pulled myself away from his chest but he held me fast, not trusting me to stay up on my own. I leaned into him, hugging him tight and nuzzling my face into his neck.

"Ya feelin' betta buddy?" I wanted to nod as he kissed my forehead lightly. I truly wanted to, I just couldn't. Everything had gone blurry and fuzzy and I could hardly see.

"Jou… Jou I'm… I-I'm going." my voice was low enough to only be heard by him. He turned me in his grip and I just knew he was looking down at me, I knew it.

"Linn… no ya can't do dis ta me! Ya can't do dis Linn!" even his voice became blurry as it went on. I felt everything happening slowly. I could feel my insides shutting down, everything happened so slowly. My kidney's, stomach, bladder, liver, small and large intestines, and my heart. My eyes had completely shut down and I couldn't see anymore. I couldn't hear either. I felt my lungs constrict as they finally stopped working and all I heard was a loud buzzing in my ears before everything… before everything was gone.

Normal POV

Jou sat on the roof of the school, holding the now cooling corpse of his best friend in his hands, cold tears running down his face. Seto stood off to the side, trying to hide the tears that currently stung his eyes. Yami sat next to Jou and the now dead girl with tears also in his eyes. Yami had a feeling this was partly his fault.

"I'm sorry Jou… it's because of me." Jou looked up to Yami and blinked, the tears still running down his face. "She… she beat up Yuugi and I couldn't just stand there and watch my aibou get hurt like that so I… I made her play a shadow game… it was endurance. The one who lasted longest through the pain won… she caused herself so much pain on her first turn I barley got hurt. It's my fault this happened… I pushed her over the edge and this happened. I only hope the god's have mercy on my soul." Yami had dropped his head and when he lifted it again, Yuugi's tearful amethyst eyes shown up at Jou.

"It was me too Jou… I couldn't stand the way she always took my lunch and my money and picked on me and beat me up… I… I even wanted her to die!" Yuugi threw his face in his hands and began to sob. Jou looked at him a moment longer before turning to Kaiba.

"And what's yer excuse fer bein' here? Ya wanted ta see a innocent girl die? Is dat it?" when Kaiba looked to Jou, Jou's face shown only shock. Kaiba had tears running down his cheeks and he had began hugging himself.

"The last thing I wanted was for her to die… I actully cared about her… I may have even loved her." Seto reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box, opening it to show a simple silver ring. "I was… going to ask her if she would go out with me… but I got nervous and didn't… why couldn't I have just asked her! Now she's gone and I can't even tell her… I can't…" he broke off, falling to his knees, as the great Seto Kaiba, began to cry. Jou looked away from him to Linn. Her body had gotten cold now and the wind slightly blew her hair in front of her face.

"Linn…" he whispered as he bent down and kissed her forehead one last time. "I'm gunna miss ya Linn… an I… I-I love you."

A few day's later at the funeral they held for her, Jou spoke to the few people who did show up. Jou, of course, along with Yuugi, Anzu, Honda, Otogi, Kaiba, Mokuba, and Linn's little brother Oshin, were the only people there besides the priest. As Jou stood at the podium, tears were in his eyes.

"Linn… she was my best friend. Her and me had been best friends eva since we was three and she moved in ta the apartment next ta mine. I helped her through a bunch of stuff. Her pop and ma dying and her brother but she always made it so she was da only one gettin' hurt. She put all da pressure on herself and took it all in. I miss her a lot and I know she's missed by all da people who were close ta her. Dat probably was only me and Oshin but I know at least she aint sufferin' any more. Linn was my best friend, and I love her like a sista, and even more den dat but I neva told her. Guess I lost my chance but I know, when it's my time and I get ta go see her again, thing's are gunna be better… a lot better."


End file.
